1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for operating a hose and, in particular, to a reel having a motor for controlling the spooling of the hose and a valve for controlling the flow of fluid through the hose.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hoses for conducting fluid, such as water hoses, can be cumbersome and difficult to manage. Mechanical reels have been designed to help spool hoses onto a drum-like apparatus. Some conventional reels are manually operated, requiring the user to physically rotate the reel, or drum, to spool the hose. This can be tiresome and time-consuming for users, especially when the hose is of a substantial length. Other reels are motor-controlled, and can automatically wind up the hose.
Hoses are typically used in conjunction with on/off valves positioned at a distal or proximal end of the hose. For example, garden hoses are fitted to a faucet on the outside of a house or other building, with a traditional manual spigot or valve for turning the water flow on or off at the faucet. Because the hose is designed to extend many yards away from the faucet, it is often convenient to have a means for turning the flow on or off at the distal or spray nozzle end of the hose. Thus, many manual devices such as spray guns are provided with a valve or fitting at the nozzle end of the hose so that the flow can be turned on or off without returning to the faucet.
Despite the availability of attachments for turning the flow on or off at the nozzle end, it is generally undesirable to leave the water flow on at the source when the hose is no longer in use. Continual water pressure along the entire length of the hose is undesirable for a number of reasons. The pressure tends to form leakage paths at joints between multiple lengths of hose, at the joint between the nozzle and the nozzle attachment (such as a spray gun), and at the joint between the faucet and the hose. Furthermore, continual pressure can also form leaks along the hose line itself. Leakage at these points leads to flooded or muddied garden areas, particularly near the faucet where the user has to go to turn the water source on or off. Moreover, it is difficult to manipulate the hose, move it from place to place, or coil the hose for storage with constant pressure along the hose line. This leads the user to turn off the water flow at the source, e.g., by the manual spigot on the outside faucet. However, the faucet is often obstructed or inconvenient or difficult to reach and the area around the faucet tends to be muddied by water leakage.
Systems for programming future operations and movements of water valves are known. Such systems normally include a valve unit containing a plurality of valves, and a user interface panel in a stationary location. For example, programmable sprinkler systems for gardens typically include a user interface panel that may be located indoors, such as mounted on a wall inside a user's garage. Alternatively, the user interface panel may be located in direct proximity to the valves.
Remote controls for controlling a water valve and/or an outdoor hose reel are also known. For example, commonly owned U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0231723 discloses a handheld remote control for wirelessly controlling a motorized hose reel and a water valve upstream of the reel. The remote control can be strapped onto the hose via an attachment band, for ease of use while using the hose.